BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Despite different opinions on politics and social issues, one trait unifies Americans: honesty. For the fifth year in a row, the honesty rate in America has exceeded 90% according to the results of the 2015 National Honesty Index, a coast-to-coast social experiment conducted by Honest Tea.
The results found 94% of Americans were honest, down slightly from 95% in 2014. Overall, Atlanta was the most honest city in the United States at 100% followed by Indianapolis at 99% honest. Providence, Tampa, and Boston were found to be the least honest cities during this year’s experiment.
The National Honesty Index tests the honesty of Americans by setting up unmanned racks of Honest beverages offered for $1 on the honor system. From July 17- Aug. 10, 2015, beverage company Honest Tea monitored thousands of interactions at 27 different locations across the country to see how honest people are when no one appears to be looking. Information was collected at each site including the number of people who paid or stole their beverages. The light-hearted experiment also tracked participants’ observable characteristics of gender and hair color. For the sixth year in a row, women proved to be more honest than men.
“It’s always refreshing to see that Americans are more honest than most people assume,” said Seth Goldman, co-founder and TeaEO of Honest Tea. “During these election cycles we are reminded that we have different views across the country, but that doesn’t mean people are dishonest.”
Highlights of the results include:
- Atlanta and Indianapolis were the most honest cities in America.
- Providence, R.I. remained at the bottom of the list for a second year in a row. One person in Providence paid for his beverage with a fake one million dollar bill.
- For the first time in the history of the experiment, in the nation’s capital someone stole money from the collection box.
- Women proved to be more honest than men edging them out 95% to 93% honest.
- Brown hair came out as the most honest hair color with 96%. Last year’s most honest, blondes were a close second at 95%. Bald individuals were the least honest at 91%.
Full City Rankings:
| City | % Honest | |||||
| Atlanta, GA | 100% | |||||
| Indianapolis, IN | 99% | |||||
| San Diego, CA | 97% | |||||
| Philadelphia, PA | 97% | |||||
| Houston, TX | 97% | |||||
| Los Angeles, CA | 97% | |||||
| Seattle, WA | 96% | |||||
| Hartford, CT | 96% | |||||
| Baltimore, MD | 96% | |||||
| Nashville, TN | 96% | |||||
| San Francisco, CA | 96% | |||||
| Portland, OR | 95% | |||||
| Sacramento, CA | 95% | |||||
| Chicago, IL | 95% | |||||
| Cincinnati, OH | 95% | |||||
| Denver, CO | 95% | |||||
| Washington, DC & Bethesda, MD | 94% | |||||
| Dallas, TX | 94% | |||||
| Orlando, FL | 94% | |||||
| New York, NY | 92% | |||||
| St. Louis, MO | 92% | |||||
| Minneapolis, MN | 90% | |||||
| Miami, FL | 88% | |||||
|
Tampa, FL |
85% | |||||
| Boston, MA | 85% | |||||
| Providence, RI | 83% | |||||
| Average | 94% |
The complete National Honesty Index results are available at www.NationalHonestyIndex.com.
Honest Tea will donate all funds collected from the on-site social experiments to FoodCorps, a nationwide team that connects kids to real food and better nutrition.
In addition to embracing honesty in the real world, Honest Tea is encouraging Americans to emphasize honesty and transparency in their online worlds. Starting today, Honest Tea is encouraging people to highlight the unfiltered, imperfect “#RefreshinglyHonest” moments in their daily lives, across social media. Photos tagged with #RefreshinglyHonest will be uploaded to www.NationalHonestyIndex.com
ABOUT Honest® TEA
Honest Tea seeks to create and promote great-tasting, healthier, organic beverages and extend economic opportunities to communities in need. Founded in 1998 in Bethesda, MD, Honest Tea is the nation’s top-selling organic bottled tea company, specializing in beverages that are Just a Tad Sweet®. Honest Tea’s product lines include: ready-to-drink bottled teas, Honest® Kids organic thirst quenchers, Honest® Freshly Brewed iced tea, and Honest® Fizz zero calorie sodas. All teas and juice drinks are USDA Organic and all tea leaf varieties are Fair Trade Certified™. In addition to being recognized by the United States Healthful Food Council for helping change the food landscape, Honest Tea is a multi-year winner of awards from the Alliance for Workplace Excellence and a Montgomery County, MD Certified Green Business. Honest Tea has won Men’s Health “Best Bottled Tea” for seven years and has been included in Women’s Health magazine’s “125 Best Packaged Foods for Women” for the last three years in a row. Honest Tea is an independent operating unit of The Coca-Cola Company. For more information: www.honesttea.com
